OS ANGELES - Al Gore is showing both sides of the modern politician this week: man of the people by day, man of the pocketbook by night.
At a small community center in the San Fernando Valley yesterday, Gore pitched more details of his plan to make affordable medical care available to every American. Once again he went tieless. He made it clear that this was his kind of crowd - middle-class Americans worried about the health care system.
Afterward, his motorcade headed out to make stops at local eateries, giving Gore more mingling time with genuine folks. Then the sun set and the stars came out again.
Last night's stars were of the Silicon Valley sort: high-tech entrepreneurs attending a $10,000-a-couple fund-raiser. Monday night's were star stars, Hollywood heavy hitters such as Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, and Garry Shandling, as well as directors and entertainment executives. The take: $4.2 million, with the 300 attendees paying $10,000 apiece for a dinner catered by Wolfgang Puck.
The contrasting imagery of populist afternoons and pricey evenings is common to presidential campaigns, and to both parties. But with relatively few scheduled events during his three-day Western swing, Gore's hobnobbing with the entertainment and Internet elite underscores the disparity between the people candidates speak to and those with whom they sit down to eat.
On Monday, for instance, the Democratic nominee addressed a rally at a Las Vegas college campus, collected the endorsement of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and then flew to Los Angeles for a far more exclusive event at the home of billionaire Ron Burkle, a supermarket tycoon. The college gymnasium was small and stifling, and Gore wore short sleeves. Burkle's mansion was, to say the least, spacious, with its own carousel and a dog house large enough for a human to occupy. Gore, joined by running mate Joseph I. Lieberman, donned a suit and tie before making his entrance.
Other contrasts abounded. At the University of Nevada rally in Las Vegas, '70s rock 'n' roll played over the speaker system. At that night's fund-raiser, '70s rock 'n' rollers Don Henley of the Eagles played live. Elton John was scheduled to entertain donors last night at the Silicon Valley home of Eric Schmidt, the chief executive of computer network giant Novell.
The Bush campaign has blasted Gore for accepting money from the same industry he and his running mate have accused in recent days of marketing sex and violence to teenagers. In turn, in a week when it is emphasizing fair and affordable health care, the Gore campaign continued to accuse Bush of being the tool of special interests such as HMOs.
''It's not an issue about who our supporters are or who our supporters aren't,'' said Gore spokesman Chris Lehane. ''The issue is who is going to stand up for American children.''
Lehane stressed that Gore and Lieberman's tough stance on what Hollywood pitches and to whom proves that their policy positions are not for sale. Still, at Burkle's house, Lieberman seemed to take away some of the sting, promising ''we will nudge you, but we will never become censors.'' Gore, who mostly stuck to the highlights of his basic stump speech, said he knew the actors and producers and directors will ''be standing with us on the fights that determine the kind of country we are.''
Yesterday, he was at the New Horizons Workshop, which trains and finds jobs for developmentally disabled adults in suburban North Hills. Gore wore a brown suitcoat but no tie.
The mood at New Horizons was somber. As he prepared to field questions, microphone in hand like a daytime TV talk show host, Gore said, ''That is why I am running for president: to fight for you, to fight for your family.''
The questions, the horror stories from doctors and patients who learned their medical records had been improperly released - and Gore's sympathetic responses - went on for almost an hour.
The point of the event was to announce a plan to protect medical privacy, one that would in part make it illegal to disclose patient records without permission and hold HMOs or insurers liable for unlawful disclosure. He also endorsed a bill that would prevent genetic information from being used to deny benefits.
The Q&A over, Gore mixed briefly, but he didn't stay for lunch. He had plans to mingle with the hoi polloi and Hollywood: an appearance on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.''
